The man identified by Winnipeg Police as the driver who intentionally ran into anti-lockdown protestors is allegedly a pedophile, according to friend and victim statements.
David Alexander Zegarac, 42, of Headingley, Manitoba has been charged with a number of offences, including four counts of assault with a weapon, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm.
Zegarac plowed his SUV into at least four protesters who were out demonstrating against pandemic restrictions on February 4, the footage of which has since gone viral and sparked outrage.
But while social media has lit up with debates about Zegarac’s political affiliations, disturbing testimony has resurfaced from several years ago in which a few individuals claiming to be victims of Zegarac recounted instances of sexual abuse. Two of them stated they were minors at the time of the incidents.
In a 2015 Tumblr post, a user provides a space in which they post statements from alleged victims of Zegarac. The account, gaslight-retreat, no longer exists, but the substance of the post has been preserved on another user’s blog and in archives.
“We have decided to carve out this space to share our stories in. Recently in Ottawa, Davey Brat Zegarac has been accused of sexual assault. We don’t know the survivor but do know the accused. Often when a survivor comes forward they are met with disbelief and scrutiny. We don’t want that to happen and felt our stories could serve as a character reference of Davey,” the user wrote, noting that none of the victims knew each other personally prior to collaborating on a post to document their experiences. They also state that they do not “wish any harm upon Davey,” and have made the post out of hope he would be “motivated to work towards getting help.”
The user then goes on to divide the post into three segments from three separate survivors.
One account, submitted in June of 2015, is from a woman who says she met Zegarac when she was 13-years-old and becoming initiated to the Winnipeg punk music scene, in which Zegarac has an extensive presence. She says that Zegarac acted as a role model for her, and bought her a guitar after they became close in 2005.
“He initiated beginning a sexual relationship with me over the internet, asking me questions about my sexual activity, sending me pictures of his body, telling me that because he was an anarchist he didn’t believe age dynamics were relevant. At the time he was 27.”
The survivor then goes on to state that the physical interactions with Zegarac became more coercive and forceful with each passing experience, “My presence and silence was taken for consent again and again…” She says she struggled with trauma for an extended period of time prior to meeting another individual who told her “That person raped half my friends.”
Another statement provided in the post from a separate survivor says she was 16 years old when she met Zegarac, who began to ask her for nude pictures.
“We communicated via email and msn messenger, and he had me send him naked pictures at this time. I guess because I was only 16 this made me feel special and cool that someone who was older and in a cool band would be interested in me (retrospectively, this is gross).”
The woman states that once Zegarac began exploiting her sexually, she was 17, and that the older man would regularly remove the condoms during sex without telling her.
Finally, the post provides a statement from a former partner and bandmate of Zegarac, who details extensive physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by him. She writes that she found Zegarac cheating on her, and the man trapped her in a room and convinced her it was her fault he had to do so.
“He had convinced me that I was messed up and was ruining what would be, otherwise, a beautiful relationship. If I could just be more affectionate, have sex with him more often, we would be ok,” she continues, “I didn’t want to be with him sexually but had been successfully convinced it was because there was something wrong with me, that I had a problem.”
The former partner goes on to apologize to Zegarac’s other victims, provide contact details, and note that Zegarac “is most dangerous because he presents himself as an ally, in safe places, in the company of good people who are respected and trusted.”
In 2015, Rebel Time Records dropped Zegarac’s associated musical acts from their label after sexual abuse allegations mounted against him.
Reduxx independently verified additional allegations which corroborated the statements made on Tumblr against Zegarac through a source close to the victims.
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